Fading Back
by WhatsThatWordAgain
Summary: The Doctor felt like he was going completely insane. He had lost everyone he loved, and he knew that one day, soon, he was going to die. But what happens when he meets a mysterious young girl who can fix alien ships and speak telepathically. And what is she hiding from him?
1. Chapter 1

**Woo! This is going to be my first story that has an actual plot! It takes place right after Adelaide commits suicide in The Waters of Mars. I promise it's going to get better. With lots of plot twists you maybe,hopefully won't expect. **

**Enjoy!**

The Doctor sank to his knees; the full weight of the things that had happened - the things he had done -were crashing down on him. He knelt in the new snow, wondering when his life started to go so terribly wrong. He was slowly losing his mind, bit by bit, and it terrified him.

Music suddenly penetrated his grim thoughts. The soft tones were familiar to him. The Doctor looked up and saw and Ood in the distance.

"I've gone too far," he muttered quietly.

He stood up. His limbs were shaking, not from the cold, but from the sheer fright of what the Ood had come for.

"Is this it?" he called out, voice unsteady, "My death? Is it time?"

The Ood just simply stared at him. A gust of wind lifted some of the powdery snow off the ground, and the Ood disappeared in the flurry.

He stood there for a moment, recovering from the wave of fear that had come over him. Finally he moved, giving Adelaide's house an apologizing glance. Then he unlocked the TARDIS, hands still shaky, making it hard to put the key in.

As soon as he entered his ship, he dematerialized immediately; he wanted the painful memories of that adventure as far away from him as possible. He stood and stared at the TARDIS console.

The Doctor couldn't think of where to go next. There wasn't a time or place where he could go and not watch someone he cares for die. He just couldn't take the pain of losing anyone anymore.

But who was he then. All his life he had been running across the universe, saving lives and losing people. That was who he was. If he gave up on that, he was absolutely nothing.

Somewhere in the distance of his mind, he could hear the warning sound of the cloister bell ringing. He came to a decision.

"No," he said with conviction. No he wasn't the Time Lord Victorious. No he wasn't giving up. No wasn't going to go insane. No he wasn't going to lose himself. And no, he wasn't going to die.

He launched himself towards the controls, flipping switches and pressing buttons. He was responding to the warning the bell had given him. He didn't even bother to look when and where in the universe that was, because he already knew what would inevitably happen. He would make friends. He would save lives. And he would lose someone.

Because that's who the Doctor was.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, and stepped right back in. He felt like some cruel joke had been played in him. The TARDIS had landed right in front of the Powell Estate where Rose lived. Will live? Used to live? Sometimes he hated time travel.

He checked the monitor and confirmed that he landed there about three years after the Canary Warf. He sighed. It would be painful to walk back out there; it brought back so many memories of his lost companion.

But the Doctor pushed back the pain and mustered up his courage. Something was definitely wrong out there, or else the TARDIS wouldn't have brought him here.

So he boldly walked out of his ship and started investigating.

Four hours later and the Doctor still had not found what he was looking for. He had explored every alley and apartment building. He even broke down and brought out a scanner he didn't usually use, but there was still no sign of any alien activity or danger.

He decided that he'd had enough and made his way back to the TARDIS. He knew he was missing something. He had to be here for a reason, but his brain was fried, and he needed a cup of tea, so he was temporarily giving up.

He turned a corner and saw a sight about fifty meters away that caused his eyebrows to raise.

Someone was touching his TARDIS. A girl. Her fingers were brushing the smooth blue wood as she circled it, eyeing it up and down.

That was not supposed to happen. The perception filters installed in the TARDIS prevented anyone from noticing it unless they had been looking for it.

Why had she been looking for it? How had she known about it?

He broke into quick jog, the girl's features becoming more and more prominent as he got closer.

She had light brown hair that went to about her shoulder blades. She had a larger build, but she was muscly rather than fat. She was probably about fourteen. She wore a pair of jeans, black converse, and a blue plaid shirt that matched the TARDIS almost too well.

The Doctor reached her and stopped. She did not turn to look at him right away, rather she finished her observations of the TARDIS. When she finally did acknowledge that he was there, the look on her face was not one of surprise, fear, or even curiosity. In fact, she seemed to be expecting him.

"How can you see my TARDIS?" he asked her sternly.

"Your what?" she replied, her face finally morphing into one of confusion.

"My TARDIS. The thing you've been looking at for two minutes. How can you see it?"

"What do you mean how can I see it? It's big. It's blue. It's in the middle of the sidewalk. How could I not see it?"

"You shouldn't be able to see it."

"Why not?"

"Because nobody should be able to see it."

"Well, I can," she miffed, "So there's no sense in telling me that I can't. Why do care so much? Do you own that thing?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do own it. And it is not a 'thing'. And the reason I care so much is because nobody should be able to see it unless they're looking for it. So my question to you is: How were you looking for it?"

"I wasn't," she answered boldly. He raised an eyebrow. "Not specifically."

The Doctor's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean 'not specifically'."

The girl hesitated. "Well I'm always looking for something."

"What are you 'always looking' for?"

She glared at him. It was clear that she did not want to have this conversation. "A way off this stupid rock."

The Doctor stared at her. She was not making sense. This situation was not making sense. Maybe he was having a dream. He was still asleep. Asleep on night before he went to Mars and did awful things. He hoped he would wake up soon.

"Alright well run along then," he said cheerfully, talking like she was a five year old. "You won't find that here."

The Doctor started to turn away, but she grabbed his arm, "Wait."

He looked up at the sky and sighed as his shoulders sank. Then he turned to face her. "What?"

"You said that no one can see your blue box unless they're looking for it, right?" He nodded. "Well I wasn't looking for a blue box. I was looking for a way off of this incredibly dull planet. So since that's what I was looking for and I saw you blue box, that leads me to believe that the blue box can take me off this planet. Is my logic correct?"

The Doctor's eyes looked down in to hers. They were a brilliant green. He could see so much of this girl in her eyes. She was confident and humble. Very intelligent. She was thirsty for adventure and knowledge. Her eyes were innocent, but still carried some pain. He had never seen eyes with so much depth on someone so young.

He decided to tell her the truth. "Yes this could take you off of Earth."

Her eyes widened with excitement. She turned her head towards the TARDIS. "What did you call it again?"

"A TARDIS. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

Her head snapped back to him. "So the time must mean it's a time machine." He nodded. "In space means it's a space ship." He cringed at space ship but nodded. The wonder on her face kept growing every second. "But what does relative dimension mean?"

The Doctor looked down. He really shouldn't do this. It was only going to cause him more pain; he didn't think he could take much more. But he was so desperately lonely, and he was so intrigued by this young girl, he couldn't stop himself.

She watched him as he reached into his suit pocket, pulling out the TARDIS key. He slid the key into the lock, hesitated, and turned the key. He pushed the door open. No turning back now.

Both of their heads snapped away from the TARDIS when they heard a loud crash coming from an alley near them.

The Doctor pulled the doors shut and slipped his key back into his pocket. "Sorry you'll have to see my party trick later."

He ran off, thankful that he didn't make the terrible mistake of bringing someone along with him again.

Who was the Doctor? He was someone who saved lives. He was someone who lost people. He was also someone who had a big enough mouth to get himself captured by a group of Dadennians who didn't know how to fix a ship.

So he stood on the ship and watched as the ignorant group of aliens tried to repair said ship. He had tried, numerous times, to tell them that he could get the ship running in no time flat, but they responded by threatening him with their large guns. So he elected to keep his mouth shit until the right time.

The Doctor had been waiting for about ten minutes when he saw her. The girl who had been looking at his TARDIS. She was waltzing around the tight corridor to his left; the one that came from the entrance. He stole a quick glance at the Dadennians to ensure they were absorbed in their repairs, then his eyes fell back in the girl.

She had just noticed him. She gave an over exaggerated smile and a big wave before exploring the ship again. It was then the Doctor concluded that this girl either was extremely stupid or extremely brave. She had followed him onto an alien ship and was showing no signs of fear or even culture shock. The Doctor then realized the he didn't even know her name.

His eyes followed her as she went back and forth between two control panels. Her expression was focused and thinking. She stopped at one of the control panels, lifted the sheet of metal off of the wall and pulled it out, revealing a tangled mess of wires.

She reached her hand deep in the knot and fiddled with it until there was a large spark. Her hand flew away from from the dangerous wires, and she shook the pain out as she put the panel back to its place on the wall.

The Dadennians had finally noticed her, and they were fast approaching. Each of them had pulled out their guns and were surging towards her. The girl ran to the other control panel and frantically started hitting buttons; her leisurely attitude was gone with the new danger.

She pressed one last button before the aliens surrounded her, and the ship came to life. Lights came on, a slight whirring sound was present, and a computerized voice had begun speaking. The Doctor couldn't believe it. How could this girl have known how to fix a ship much less an alien one?

The Dadennians focus immediately went to their ship, and they prepared for takeoff.

The Doctor ran over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Run," he said.

They made it out of the ship. She had stopped but he pushed her along. "We have to get away from the ship or else the repulsers will kill us!" He yelled over the sound of the ships engine.

They ran until they were a good fifty feet away before they stopped and turned around to watch the ship take off.

"So do I get ride on your spaceship for saving your life?" she asked, eyes still on the takeoff.

He turned his head towards her. "You didn't save my life. I would've gotten out of there just fine."

She looked up at him. "Sure saved you a lot of trouble though."

He didn't say anything. If he brought her with him, even just once, it would be hard to let her go. So he kept silent and stood there next to her until the ship was finally out of sight. Then he turned and started walking back towards the TARDIS, but he made sure she was following.

The girl gave him an ecstatic look and ran into the TARDIS. He mentally kicked himself for being so weak, but he eventually followed her.

Her eyes darted all around the console room, and a smile lit up her face.

"Go ahead and say it," he said. Her positive energy was radiating into him now, making him feel better than he had in a few months.

"It's bigger on the inside," the girl said, slightly breathless from wonderment. "So I'm guessing all this space is stored in another dimension, right? And that's what the relative dimension means."

The Doctor gaped at her. She laughed at him. "What? It's not that hard to figure out."

He brushed off his surprise before she asked another question, "Are you an alien?"

"Are you just going to expose all my secrets in one day?" he said, feigning annoyance.

She laughed, the youthful sound seemingly brightening up the room.

"Okay, before I take you anywhere," he said. Her smile brightened, "I have a few questions. First, will you have a mother or father missing you?"

"That question is illogical considering that this is a time machine."

He smiled just a little bit. "Quite right. Also, I shall need to know your name."

"Mavis."

"Just Mavis?"

"No, of course not 'just Mavis'. But you are still a stranger, so I'm only giving you 'just Mavis' for right now. Speaking of strangers, I don't know your name yet."

"The Doctor."

"See. Now when a strange person offers you a ride in his spaceship, and they give you a name that isn't really a name at all, you might start having second thoughts about going with this guy."

The Doctor's mood kept on rising. "If you don't like it then you don't have to come."

Mavis smiled. "I'm just messing. For some reason, I trust you."

The Doctor grinned widely. "Alright. So the entire universe. Anytime and any when. Where would you like to start?"

"Surprise me."

So the Doctor's hands flew across the controls. Hurtling the new pair into the time vortex and off to an alien planet. Even though he shouldn't have felt like he did, he could wait to uncover the mystery behind this girl. And with every passing second, it felt less and less like he was making a mistake.

The Doctor saved lives. The Doctor lost people. The Doctor got captured when he talked to much. The Doctor was weak. The Doctor needed the help of his friends sometimes. And the Doctor couldn't help but love people, even if he had only known them a short time. That's who he was.

**Please review! It means a lot!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's another chapter. I'm really hoping that readers will be surprised in the next few chapters. I'm really trying not to give anything away. I hope you are all enjoying this so far. **

Mavis felt like she was floating on a cloud. The last few hours had been stupendous. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Astounding. She had found a strange man who had a bigger-on-the-inside-space-ship-time-machine, fixed and alien ship, and was currently getting a ride on said time machine.

None of it had come as a complete shock to her. Her mother had lived through many of the alien invasions that had recently occurred, and worked for an organization that controlled alien invasions. Her childhood had been filled with stories of far off worlds and strange creatures. So when she met a strange alien man, she immediately wanted to come with him.

She also felt guilty about not telling her mother; after all, she wanted to be here more than her daughter did. But Mavis wanted to get to know the Doctor better, so for the time being, she would keep any secrets she or her mother had to herself.

She pushed away any feelings of guilt and got lost in the wonder happening right before her eyes. After all, this was a once in a lifetime.

"It's the year for billion and three. Just on the verge of the rise of the Jawhn Empire. Invention of the long-distance teleport. We've landed in the Capitol city of Thibult on the planet Aruna," the Doctor spoke animatedly pressing a few last minute buttons before he dashed over to the doors. He pulled them open, and he grinned at the sight before him. Then he turned back around and gestured for Mavis to walk out with him. "Shall we?"

Mavis' eyes were full of awe as she stepped out of the TARDIS, almost entranced. The Doctor smirked happily and closed the doors, following her out into the brand new atmosphere.

He had landed them in the middle of what could be compared to a mall on Earth. There were shops lined up on the sides of the streets, and the planet's inhabitants were milling around. The Arunans were humanoid, but their skin had a blue tinge to it, and their average height was significantly less than humans'.

Mavis was spinning around slowly, taking in the new scenery, a grin plastered on her face. The Doctor loved watching this part. He was starting to realize how much he really did need somebody; the pain of recent events were already starting to fade.

"This is amazing," she said.

"How would you like to go shopping?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes widened. "I would love it."

They walked side by side, searching for a store that had some bizarre and amusing products they could buy for Mavis to bring home.

"Why is no one talking?" she asked curiously.

"Well 'just Mavis', this species is psychic. They can talk through their minds telepathically. Comes in handy when you want to keep a secret."

"Are you psychic?"

"Yeah."

"So you can hear everything they're saying?"

"No. You can control the telepathy so that only the people you want to be hearing are hearing, so I am hearing just as much as you right now."

She was silent for a while, seeming to be lost in her own thoughts. After a few moments she pointed and spoke. "Can we go in that shop?"

The Doctor followed her gesture. She was pointing at a small, ruddy pawn shop. He admired her taste; it was exactly the kind of place he would've chosen.

He smiled at her. "I'd love to."

"What's this one?" Mavis inquired, holding up a circular object. The base looked like a plate, and a thin sheet of metal shaped like a donut sat atop it. She spun the piece of metal and watched as a moving image appeared on the plate. She smiled as a forest appeared.

The Doctor looked over her shoulder. "That is a Dareeque. It was invented on this planet. It connects with the Holder's brain and shows you places and people whom are important to you."

The Doctor reached over her shoulder and took the object from her. Mavis watched as he stared into the plate, his eyes becoming more and more depressed by the second.

She leaned in to look at what the Doctor was seeing. There were miles of wave that were frozen. Some of them were foamed and about to crash, others were just building themselves up. Some of the wave were frozen in tunnels, so you could walk right through them.

"Where's that?" she asked quietly, tilting her head up to his face.

He came out of his lamenting trance and cleared his throat. "It's a planet called Woman Wept. I went there with my friend, a long time ago."

"It's beautiful."

"So, you want this one?" The Doctor switched his moods so fast, Mavis could hardly react.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

She took the Dareeque up to the cashier. He grabbed it from her, placed it under a greenish light she could only guess was a price scanner, and stared intensely at her.

_That will be twenty Aruniis. _

Mavis almost stepped away from the man. She could've sworn he had spoken those words out loud, but his lips had not moved. Had they?

She must have looked frightened, because she heard him again.

_Are you alright Miss?_

The Doctor came up behind her and spoke aloud.

"Oh, excuse her. She isn't psychic."

She turned to face the Doctor. "No, no, it's alright I can hear him just fine." Now it was his turn to look surprised and slightly frightened. She continued, "He says that the Dareeque is twenty Aruniis."

The Doctor absentmindedly pulled out a small stick, still staring at her dumb founded. Mavis grabbed the stick and handed to the cashier. He took it looked at it, then handed it back to her. He proceeded to take the Dareeque, wrap it in some kind of foam, slip it in a bag, and give it to her.

Before she left, she decided to try something. Putting a phrase in her mind, she focused and tried to mentally throw her words at the cashier.

_Thank you. _

_My pleasure. _The man replied.

She did her best to keep her surprise to herself. She grabbed the still-stupified Doctor's sleeve and dragged him out of the shop.

As soon as the Doctor regained his composure, he started firing questions at Mavis.

"How did you do that?"

"I know as much as you do! I have know idea how I can talk to people in their minds, it hasn't happened before!"

They were walking through the outdoor mall again back towards the TARDIS. It had started raining, so the pair moved quickly.

"Did you talk back to him?"

"Yeah. So?"

The Doctor was becoming increasingly worried about Mavis' identity and impossible abilities.

He grabbed her shoulder to stop her in the middle of the walkway.

"No human should be able to communicate psychically, much less achieve it on their first try.

Mavis crossed her arms and took a step closer to him, her face inches from his.

_Well I _can_. So there's no sense telling me it's impossible. _

"Stop that."

_Why? Are you scared?_

He turned away and started walking again. "It's time to go home."

The Doctor listened as her footsteps came quickly as she caught up with him, and slowed to a steady pace the rest of the way to the TARDIS.

When they arrived, the Doctor pushed the doors open for her. She rolled her eyes but still slumped inside. He followed her, but just before he closed the doors, he spotted and Ood.

The Doctor simply stared back at the creature, willing it to leave him alone. It couldn't have been time yet. He had so much to discover about Mavis, and he still had so much to discover about the universe. Although he might still live as another man, it was not time for this man to die just yet.

The Doctor closed the doors.

_I still don't understand why you're so angry about this. _

The Doctor was trying to land the TARDIS back on Earth. But she was acting up. It was like she didn't want to land. He frantically circled the console, quickly hitting things, trying to get some kind of result. Mavis sat in the captain's seat, looking bored and annoyed.

_Because. Everything you do is impossible. You saw my TARDIS. You fixed an alien ship by yourself. And you have telepathic abilities. _

_Well I got you talking in my mind, so obviously you're lightening up a bit. _

They ceased talking for a few minutes, verbally and telepathically. The only sounds coming from the Doctor trying to pilot the TARDIS.

"Hah!" he shouted when he finally gained control.

He landed the TARDIS and pulled the doors opened. He was hit with a strong gust of wind. He looked up at the sky and saw deep purple clouds and bright white lightning.

"Oh. That's not good," he muttered, voice jumping high.

Mavis appeared behind him. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, a massive bolt of electricity hit the ground right in front of them. The Doctor and Mavis were thrown back onto the TARDIS grating. The electricity in the air traveled though his body, causing him to convulse for a few moments.

He scrambled on his knees to close the doors. He leaned against them and tried to catch his breath.

"Definitely not good."

**Please Review and/or follow. Hoped you liked it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This story hasn't gotten a ton of followers or reviews. But I'm hoping after this chapter it will. I've really been trying to keep the plot a secret up until now. I really hope my readers will enjoy this. **

The Doctor ran over to Mavis who was still lying on the TARDIS grating. She wasn't moving, but he checked her pulse and decided she was just unconscious from the lightning strike.

He ran towards the controls and quickly got them off Earth. He stabilized the TARDIS so that she was floating in open space, close enough to Earth to get a good look at it.

Hopping over Mavis on the way, he sprinted to the door and jerked it open. He saw Earth, sitting in the middle of space like it always was, except the entire surface was covered in thick, purple clouds.

The Doctor stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong and what he was going to do. He heard Mavis moaning from behind him, so he slammed the door shut and knelt beside her.

He watched intently as she opened her eyes. She looked slightly dazed, but her pupils were not dilated, so she was not concussed.

Mavis sat up slowly, leaning back on her hands for support. The Doctor could see that she was slowly coming back to her senses.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I need to call my mum," she mumbled.

The Doctor took that as a yes, and he helped her stand up.

"You can use the TARDIS phone," he spoke, guiding her towards the console, "Any phone that you have won't have any service, because we're not on Earth anymore. I need to run some tests to figure out what's going on down there, so just do what you need to do."

Mavis nodded curtly and picked up the phone. The Doctor went to the other side of the console and scanned Earth for any traces of alien technology that could have started the massive storm. But, being his nosy self, also listened in on Mavis' phone conversation.

She giggled as soon as the ringing stopped. "This is Mavis. . . . . Yeah is my mum there? . . . . . Can I please talk to her? . . . . . . Thanks. . . . . Hi mum it's me," The Doctor heard a woman yelling on the other line, but couldn't make out any words. "Two days?" Mavis exclaimed, giving the Doctor a dirty glare. He shrugged, at least it wasn't a year. "Yeah I'm sorry, I'll explain everything when I see you. . . . . . No I'm not at home I'm with someone. Actually, we may be able to come to you. . . . . . . Look I will see you soon, we'll discuss this later. . . . . Love you too," she hung up.

"Why is your mum at work?" he asked as soon as the conversation was ended. "I would expect everyone to be in their homes, huddled in the corner with their doors locked."

"She..." Mavis hesitated. "Well, her job... It isn't exactly a normal one."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in question. "What 'not normal' job requires her to be working at a time like this?"

Mavis gazed down at the floor for a few moments, before her eyes returned to his. "She works for an organization that deals with aliens. It's called Torchwood."

The Doctor's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that, but it did explain quite a few things.

"So that's why you're so comfortable around aliens?"

Mavis nodded.

"So you actually were looking for my TARDIS? I've encountered people with Torchwood before, so that would be how you got information."

"Yes and no. I was looking for the TARDIS, but not because of Torchwood," her voice dropped off at the last few words.

The Doctor thought that this conversation would hopefully be answering some of his questions. However, his curiosity about this girls was growing with every word she spoke.

"Well," he said, "why were you looking for it? And how can you speak psychically? Did Torchwood do some kind of experiment on you?"

Mavis let out a held breath. "Look, there's a lot of things you don't understand, and I know you have questions, but it's not my place to answer them. So you might as well just let it go."

The strong tone of her voice surprised the Doctor, so he just nodded and went back to running the scans.

"I also think it would be a good idea if we went to see my mum," Mavis expressed out of the blue. "She might have some answers, and she wants to know that I'm okay."

The Doctor sighed. There were downfalls of having such a young girl aboard, and he really hated having to work with Torchwood. "Oh, alright," he moaned, "but I need to finish running these tests. It might take an hour or so. Make yourself comfortable."

Mavis grinned.

Forty-five minutes later, Mavis and the Doctor were sitting on the grating having a race with Rubik's cubes with Muse blaring in the background. Mavis was concentrating hard on her cube, and she finished before the Doctor was even close.

"Hah!" she shouted, "I won again! You owe me ten quid, again."

The Doctor handed over the money and mumbled something about being a nine hundred year old genius, and there was no way a fourteen year old human should be able to beat him at a Rubik's cube.

"How much longer are those scans going to take," she said as she stood up and started walking around.

The Doctor pointed his sonic at the console, turning off the music and checking the scan progress. "Should be about fifteen more minutes."

Mavis sat down in the captain's chair and watched as the Doctor came over to join her. They sat in slightly awkward silence before the Doctor finally broke it.

"So you told me the reason you could see the TARDIS is because you wanted to get off Earth. I know you were lying now, but... is there any truth to that?"

Mavis stared at the console and nodded slightly. "Yeah. I mean, growing up with my mom I heard so many stories about aliens and different worlds, and knowing about that stuff... it just kind of dulls the excitement of everyday life. I absolutely hate getting up every morning and doing the same thing at school everyday. I feel like there is so much out there to see, and if I only have eighty years of life, I don't want to waste it on a job."

Mavis moved her eyes towards the Doctor's face, trying to gauge his reaction. She couldn't tell for sure, but she thought she saw a hint of a smile in his eyes.

_What are you thinking about_? she asked in his mind.

The Doctor turned his head sharply, glaring at her for a moment before relaxing. She was surprised to hear him respond back telepathically.

_The way you just explained... all of that. It's exactly what I think._

Mavis smiled. _We're pretty alike, you and me._

A loud beeping sound tore through the moment. The Doctor sprung from the seat and started operating the console and staring at the screen. Mavis leaned back on the seat and crossed her arms over her chest. She watched the man in his element, every move done with fervor and intensity. He looked so alive.

"Well the storms definitely from and alien origin," he rambled. "I can't pinpoint a specific area just yet, which means there could be things generating the storm all across Earth. I definitely haven't seen anything like this before. It's not an atmospheric disturbance, nor is it natural. Well, I guess it could be natural, if we were discussing another planet, but this is Earth. I say we go down and see your mum and Torchwood, and see what else we come up with. What do you say?"

Mavis was gaping at him through his entire speech; she had never heard anyone talk so much in her entire life. She quickly shut her mouth and responded, "Yeah that sounds fine to me."

The Doctor grinned and pulled a lever. The TARDIS shook as it prepared to land.

Jack Harkness ran over to the telephone and picked up.

"Captain Jack Harkness, and you are? . . . . . Oh yeah! Mavis! Can I do anything for you on this fine and stormy day? . . . . . Yeah she's here. . . . . Of course. One sec."

Jack pulled the phone away from his ear and covered it with his palm. "Some girl name Mavis wants to speak with her mother."

He heard a loud bang from behind a wall, and seconds later a blond woman came running towards him.

Jack put the phone back up to his ear and said, "Here she is Mavis. Good luck.

The woman ripped the phone out of his hands before he could even hear the girl say thanks.

"Where the hell have you been?! I you disappeared two days ago and you won't answer your phone or anythin'. Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Jack was trying to look busy, when really he was listening in on the concerned mother's conversation. "Yes two days! Are you not gonna' to apologize or anythin'? . . . . . . Don't go outside, you probably have enough sense not to do that though. Are you at home? . . . . . . Who the hell are you with? How are you gonna get all the way out here? I'm in Cardiff. . . . . Alright but I expect answers. Love you. See you soon."

Jack whistled merrily as the woman hung up the phone. He pretended to be absorbed in his work, but she knew him to well.

"Don't you pretend for one second that you didn't hear any of that," she scolded. "I know you can't resist eavesdroppin'."

Jack turned to her and smiled seductively. "Yeah you know me too well. Although, you could get to know me better, if you know what I mean."

The blond punched him hard in the arm. "I won't fall for any of your tricks and you know that."

The woman started walking towards the computers. She stared at the data they had been collecting from the freak storm, trying to make sense of some of it. Jack quickly joined her.

"Do you know who Mavis is with?" he asked nonchalantly as he stared at a screen.

"No idea," she answered, matching his tone.

"Do you think it could be him?"

She didn't say anything for a while. Jack didn't want to get her hopes too high, but he wanted to know what she was thinking.

"Could be anyone, really," is what she finally said.

Both turned back to analyzing information, the silence filled only by the sounds of harmonious bleeping. After a good ten minutes, the woman spoke, "I think I found a pattern, come look."

Jack waltzed towards the computer his coworker was looking at, and saw what she had found.

"Oh you are brilliant. I'm glad we hired you."

The woman smiled, her tongue poking out between her teeth.

Jack bolted away from the computers and grabbed his gray military coat from the railing. He slipped it on before giving orders to the blond.

"Get your coat Rosie, we're gonna go find some aliens.

**So when was the moment you knew? Do you have any suggestions for me? Is there something you want to see happen in this story? Please review or PM me. Thanks for reading!**


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